Thursday, February 24, 2011

The Winter Blues

Okay, so we're coming up to the part of the year that is most depressing. The snow doesn't look pretty anymore, definitely not a winter wonderland, and spring is still far enough away that you aren't quite prepared to trade in the winter coat for a lighter one. Everything looks grungy, there's little bits of trash that have been hidden by snow showing up, and it's not even really possible to do things like hiking because everything is icy.

Blech!

I wish I could tell you I had a fabulous way to overcome the lack of good spirits this time of year inspires. I don't. I just want to curl up in bed and read trashy fan fiction with a cup of minty hot chocolate. Maybe it's not so surprising that the stories I've been working on the last few weeks have been rather dark. Child prostitution, murder, revenge -- I've found myself delving into some really depressing topics.

So, maybe the best way to deal with the pre-spring blahs, is to embrace them. Use the time to write those scenes that are dreary and morbid, the kinds of things it's hard to write when the sun is shining and the world looks so damn cheery you half expect flowers to sprout up out of nowhere.

I've struggled all winter to finish a story I started while camping last summer. It took me until today to realize I was struggling so hard with it because my mind wasn't happy writing beach scenes when my fingers were numb with cold and I was bundled under extra blankets. (curse you furnace!!!! Why couldn't you have lasted just a few more weeks?) So, until the weather perks up again, I'll be writing a story set in the cold of space, where the hero is a victim, a prostitute, and soon, a conspirator to mass murder....kinda makes him seem unlikable, but that's the point of the story. Just like this dreary time of year, life in this future, especially in space, isn't sunshine and roses.

Hopefully, in a few weeks, the spring flowers will start poking through the ground, and I can move on to something less depressing. I'm sure everyone else is looking forward to spring as well.